FUT Procedure - Dr. Bernstein

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I started noticing that I was going bald when I was in my early twenties. To be honest, it was hard to notice at first: a few hairs growing just in front of my hair line, my temples becoming slightly more pronounced, that kind of thing. Periodically I looked into possible treatments and occasionally tried various homeopathic remedies, but nothing worked. But I was too busy with school and work and life to really worry about my hair and so I let things go… probably a lot longer than I should have.

When I hit thirty years old, though, I knew I had to get serious about treatment. Anytime I got out of the shower I was reminded of how much my haircut concealed my hair loss and I dreaded humid days that flattened out my hair, windy days that pushed my hair from its most advantageous position. I had tried Propecia, but I was unlucky enough to have experienced some serious sexual side effects and, as the cure is worse than the disease in that case, I didn’t know what to do. I had just moved to NYC and began researching ways to prevent the hair loss again. I began using Rogaine again (which had never seemed to work for me), biotin supplements, and shampoos that promised to increase volume and density. Nothing worked. It was time to look into hair transplant surgeries.

As I researched, I noticed that there seemed to be a small-scale war going on regarding hair transplant surgeries. One webpage/person/video/review would claim that one procedure was the best and the other was terrible, and the very next webpage/person/video/review would say just the opposite. The whole thing felt counterproductive, and I knew I needed to actually speak with someone, and most importantly, someone who performed both treatments.

Dr. Bernstein’s clinic came up very quickly as I researched hair transplants. I called and researched a number of places but costs were either prohibitively high or suspiciously low and none of the results page (that shows the images of previous clients) looked as good as Dr. Bernstein’s (even when I cross referenced it to those with the specific Norwood level I thought I had). I decided to bite the admittedly expensive bullet and schedule a consultation.

I was extremely nervous when I was in Dr. Bernstein’s waiting room and had close to no idea what to expect. When I was called back to meet with Dr. Bernstein he asked all the questions you’d expect him to ask: Have you tried Propecia? Rogaine? How long has this been going on? What was I hoping to achieve? He examined my scalp and my hair and informed me what he thought he could offer. We talked about the benefits of FUT and FUE and which would be better for me. I know that some have commented that he is terse in his bedside manner, but he and I were able to joke a bit and I found his knowledgeable and calm approach reassuring. I was not looking for a new best friend or someone to hold my hand, I was looking for an expert surgeon, and Dr. Bernstein’s ability to answer my questions, his patience with me as I asked and re-asked an unending stream of questions, and his methodical attitude was more than I could have asked for. We spent more than 45 minutes in that initial consultation and I told him I needed time to think about it. He told me that if I ever wanted to come back, the price paid for the original consultation would cover any subsequent consultations within the year.

I thought a lot about what to do over the next few weeks. It was a big decision and everyday new questions piled up in my mind. I decided to schedule another consultation and in the next month I was in his office again asking him about how the hair would age, the recovery timeline, and tons of other things. He was extremely clear and direct while being patient with me. He made it clear that he was available for any questions I would have. On my way out of his office that day, I was sure I would get the procedure.

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I had a FUT procedure with him yesterday. Overall a good experience, but too early to really tell about results. My impression of the Dr. Bernstein is he wants his patients to have realistic expectations. He’s not selling. He would rather do 2 sessions than 1 mega session, so that he can fine tune the ultimate outcome. Some people are looking for a more gung ho doc, but I’m fine with the more conservative approach.

Best of luck!

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Yeah, those are my thoughts as well. I have heard a few horror stories about people going to get mega-sessions done and having trauma or bad growth. I wanted to make sure I went to someone who knew what they were doing.

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Yeah - I agree. I get why some people would want to be sold on the procedure but I actually really appreciated that I wasn't being treated like I was buying a car or getting pressured into something. You can tell from talking to him and the results he gets that he knows what he's doing, I didn't really need to be "sold" beyond that.

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The thing about Bernstein is he puts it all out there. His results page is the most detailed I have seen with all different ways to sort it. It gives you a sense of what is really achievable and not science fiction.

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I know right? That was actually one of the main reasons I decided to go with him. All the before and afters really let you know what you can expect so you don't just have to blindly trust that the procedure will look good or how it will turn out. A couple of the hairlines on Bernstein's site reminded me of my own and the results were really exactly what I was looking for. Both this guy: https://www.bernsteinmedical.com/hair-transplant-photos/hairlines/patient-iov/

have my natural pattern and something like what I want my hairline to look like. Seeing that Bernstein has gotten basically the exact results I want on someone else really influenced my decision to see him.

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Hey Luke,
Really appreciate your thread. Dr. Cinik is on my list. I am also from LA and its so hard to decide between one of the best like Dr. Koray Erdogan who is excellent but sort of expensive and I feel like everyone who gets a procedure from him gets the max 5000 grafts. And while I respect Dr. Koray's work I think when a doctor grows naturally his facility grows and you don't get much time from him but his staff who every clinic will say are the best but who knows. Nonetheless I am still considering Dr. Koray.
I also have Dr. Cinic and a few other doctors that I have followed some people from Dr. Yaman to Dr. T to Dr. Karadeniz.
Its so tough.
Thank you for your thread.
And thank you for all the members. This website is a huge resource.
-m

Hey Luke,
Really appreciate your thread. Dr. Cinik is on my list. I am also from LA and its so hard to decide between one of the best like Dr. Koray Erdogan who is excellent but sort of expensive and I feel like everyone who gets a procedure from him gets the max 5000 grafts. And while I respect Dr. Koray's work I think when a doctor grows naturally his facility grows and you don't get much time from him but his staff who every clinic will say are the best but who knows. Nonetheless I am still considering Dr. Koray.
I also have Dr. Cinic and a few other doctors that I have followed some people from Dr. Yaman to Dr. T to Dr. Karadeniz.
Its so tough.
Thank you for your thread.
And thank you for all the members. This website is a huge resource.
-m

Hey Luke,
Really appreciate your thread. Dr. Cinik is on my list. I am also from LA and its so hard to decide between one of the best like Dr. Koray Erdogan who is excellent but sort of expensive and I feel like everyone who gets a procedure from him gets the max 5000 grafts. And while I respect Dr. Koray's work I think when a doctor grows naturally his facility grows and you don't get much time from him but his staff who every clinic will say are the best but who knows. Nonetheless I am still considering Dr. Koray.
I also have Dr. Cinic and a few other doctors that I have followed some people from Dr. Yaman to Dr. T to Dr. Karadeniz.
Its so tough.
Thank you for your thread.
And thank you for all the members. This website is a huge resource.
-m

Hey Luke,
Really appreciate your thread. Dr. Cinik is on my list. I am also from LA and its so hard to decide between one of the best like Dr. Koray Erdogan who is excellent but sort of expensive and I feel like everyone who gets a procedure from him gets the max 5000 grafts. And while I respect Dr. Koray's work I think when a doctor grows naturally his facility grows and you don't get much time from him but his staff who every clinic will say are the best but who knows. Nonetheless I am still considering Dr. Koray.
I also have Dr. Cinic and a few other doctors that I have followed some people from Dr. Yaman to Dr. T to Dr. Karadeniz.
Its so tough.
Thank you for your thread.
And thank you for all the members. This website is a huge resource.
-m

I have emailed Asmed basically just saying that I would like to discuss my results and the possibility of a follow up procedure because my results are not acceptable. However, I emailed their “customer service” email. In the past, emails never go to the doctor himself and you interact with some assistant.
I went through a lot to have the original procedure. Flying to Turkey, taking time off from work, having to go months with a terrible looking hair line was draining. It’s depressing because I did a lot of research and genuinely thought I was going to one of, if not THE best clinic for fue in the world. That’s not to mention the money spent. All that to still be left with a pluggy hairline and a bad comb over....I have limited grafts left at this point. If I did go through this again I would want to know that asmed has their best working to ensure I have the best results possible. Asmed says they guarantee their results and it will be interesting to see what they say.
Any thoughts on how many grafts placed at my hairline I would need to give an illusion of density?